At First Sight
by silasandfrida
Summary: A third person recount of when Legolas first catches sight of Eowyn in Riddermark. His thoughts on their first few encounters. Hints at romantic feelings.
1. Chapter 1

Legolas looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of the maiden to whom Aragorn seemed to be so infused with and immediately recognized the reason for his enchantment; for the first time during their long journey he was especially thankful to have such keen sight if only to gimps her clearer. The... Lady, he decided he should call her for lack of name, though such a flat title did her character no true justice, was beautiful. He meant this not in the one-dimensional way which the humans seemed to use the word but in the true sense of the word-she had something that set her apart, something that attracted others to her. This quality as far as Legolas could tell was her eyes. Of all the eyes of humans that he had filed away into his memory, hers were the only pair which he truly wished to glimpse again. She must have been the only human woman he had seen that understood that sight was not the only function the eyes had. He sometimes spoke whole conversations with just his eyes when he was still home among his kin. Remembering the eyes of his kin now he realized that he favored the Lady's even to theirs.

He came quickly with the company through the town towards the the hall of Riddermark in hope that he was able to see her once more to try and spy what message he could from her pupils. He betrayed none of this to his companions, of course, through his actions. As they came up the steps he feigned annoyance at the request of their weapons trying to seem less hasty to embark into the hall. He smiled briefly to himself though when they the soldiers smirked at him in triumph upon receiving his bow and short knife. He entertained himself by engaging their eyes relaying "You think I have need of a weapon if I wished for your death?" and waited in vain for the fear to manifest in their stances. He sighed, "The humans are so blind they cannot even see a threat on their own lives," he thought and looked away grinning bitterly to himself in disgust. He glanced slowly down a hallway as the soldiers led them to the throne room and stopped abruptly as he saw the Lady at the end watching him with those wonderful eyes. He stared back at her and saw that she glanced to the soldiers and back into his eyes. Her glare became hard and her hand reached down her gown to a belt which held a sheath with short sword; she stared coldly into his eyes. The message he received was quite clear, "attempt harm towards them and die". She departed down a corridor, leaving the elf shocked and bare of expression. He had expected to see much in the lady's eyes but not a threat, he pondered the encounter a moment then smiled gleefully to himself. She was more interesting then he had imagined; not only had she read the message in his eyes towards the soldiers but she had communicated back. A chill went through him as he remembered the feeling he received under her glare-fear; she had scared him with just a look in her eyes."How exciting to find a human so adept with her eyes, and a woman at that'" he thought.

"Legolas!'" he heard an echo break into his deep thoughts and stirred as Gimli clasped his hand on on the elf's back,"an elf falling behind a dwarf and a human, your kind would disown you could they see you now," he said sarcastically and chuckled slyly. Legolas smirked at this but pretended to still be deep in thought until Aragorn clasped a hand to his shoulder urging him to continue. He rejoined them matching Gimli's pace and waited for the dwarf to ask, he did not wait long. "Are your ears growing rusty, elf? Could you not hear me when I jested you or feel my hand on your back?" questioned Gimli with false concern.

"I did not stir because I thought that a child might be bothering me. maybe if your hand could reach my shoulder I would have none it was a man who commanded my attention,' Legolas replied smoothly and hurried forward leaving a dumbstruck Gimli scowling at his back as he went. They were stopped at the end of the long hall in front of a raised platform upon which sat a throne. On the throne sat a man whom Legolas could only guess was King Theoden. He wore a crown but at the same time did not look kingly at all. He looked drained; Legolas observed that his eyes seemed to send out no messages not even the recognition of plain sight. At his side was a small crooked man. Legolas shivered when their eyes met; the man was the most unpleasant Human Legolas had yet met. His eyes sent out one clear message-cowardice and narcissism. He guessed that this must be the Grima Wormtongue that Eomer had mentioned when they met. He face became downcast when his eyes landed on Gandalf. Fear enveloped his gaze and a bitter scowl overtook his already displeasing features. Legolas half expected his tongue to dart quickly out of and back into his mouth as the tongue of a serpent might. He spoke in anger at Gandalf and reprimanded the soldiers for not claiming the wizard's staff at the door. He spoke at Gandalf and was disposed of for the time being.

Legolas surveyed the room ready to defend his friend should any of the soldiers be loyal enough to the imp as to attack the wizard. None came forward and he watched as Gandalf turned his attention to the weary King upon his throne. He watched for seconds before surveying the room once more for attackers. He scoured room just in time to see the Lady enter and rush towards the king. He started forward to stop her but Aragorn was closer and held her back. He felt a small pinch of jealously shoot into the recesses of his mind and started towards them but stopped abruptly when the Lady looked up towards the dais and he caught sight of her eyes.

Tears flowed freely down her pale skin and made her eyes shine even brighter than before. Legolas was frozen still. All of his senses, his smell, his hearing, his touch, everything but his sight ceased to work and all of his thoughts focused solely on the Lady. The deep despair which he saw in her eyes injured him. He felt as though he was cast into the emotion himself though he had nothing over which to despair. He covered his eyes with his own hand for it was the only way to take his sight off of her. He quickly composed his emotions and though he was well versed in creating a mask of false calmness he could not stop one tear from falling into his own hand. He turned back towards the dais and the king to try to keep his eyes from returning to her. It was difficult but he held his gaze forward until he could hear again what Gandalf and the king were saying and all of his senses returned to him.


	2. Chapter 2

Eowyn woke in the morning with the usual waking nightmares playing in her head. Grima may have been banished but he still had a foothold in her though he was unaware of it. "Worthless," she thought to herself, "Worthless is the word that comes to mind when glance at the mirror." She grimaced and then looked back at her reflection and watched with satisfaction as her countenance changed from self-pitying to proud and strong. She watched as her face shifted, as the bitter frown broke to reveal a strong thin line and her eyes became hard and focused as the last tear for the day dropped from her chin. "I may not be strong but I will look it," She thought. It always made her feel better. She thought of her morning change as a battle, though it was a bitter one, that did not conclude until she laid her head down to sleep at night. All day behind her mask she could imagine thousands of soldiers bearing plain faces fighting against weeping, angry, crooked foes who sought to gain control of the battlefield once more. It was a harsh comparison but one that kept her motivated, one that kept her willing. Battle had always healed her emotional weaknesses if only temporarily to make a place for her physical shortcomings. Still, she took refuge in it when she could none the less. She reveled in her lack of expression while she thought all of this until her attention was called away by a knock on the door. She looked down realizing she had dressed her face but not yet her body; she quickly amended this.

"Enter," she said stoically.

"My Lady, there is a man...well, an elf rather here to speak with you. Do you wish me to send him away?" asked her maid-servant from a crack in the door. Eowyn was shocked though her face and posture did not show it. The elf must be the one she saw yesterday. She filed this information away to give light to something more important in her mind; he is a companion of Aragorn. She cursed herself as soon as the thought passed. "I do not like being swayed by any emotions for love can be as much a prison as hatred," she thought. She stood and straitened her back and lifted her chin. She was the princess of Riddermark and she must act as such.

"I will see him," she said simply once she was at the door. The maid-servant appeared flustered by this but none the less followed the Lady out of her quarters and down the corridor. At the end a male elf sat looking almost bored while he glanced around the corridor. When his eyes rested on her they lit up mischievously though his face showed only the polite fake grin he offered most humans.

"Sir Elf," she inclined her head to show respect.

"Lady," Legolas returned and mirrored her gesture.

"My name is Lady Eowyn," she said almost immediately after he raised his head, "I prefer you address me as Eowyn. Lady is a tired title."

"I am called Legolas and though it is tired as well it is the only title I have for you to use," he returned just as quickly then he paused looking towards her but not exactly at her, "Eowyn," he finished softly. As he did he met her eyes. She did not feel prepared to meet his eyes yet so she turned away.

"Naoana, you may go," she told her maid-servant.

"But, My Lady, it is my duty to accompany you," Naoana replied very flustered.

"It is your duty to do what I tell you, is it not?" Eowyn asked, her voice carrying a hint of a threat.

"Yes, My Lady," Naoana replied and though she retreated quickly her eyes seemed almost thankful to her master.

"Why is she afraid of elves?" Legolas inquired as Eowyn turned back towards him. She seemed unsurprised by his question and replied as though she had expected it.

"Her parents left her when she was an infant to try to retrieve some horses from Fangorn. They never returned and everyone said it must have been elf magic that kept them. She believed them though I reassured her elves did not inhabit that forest."

"I see," was all Legolas said though he appeared uninterested in the information.

"Why are you here?" Eowyn asked abruptly.

"Because I wished to speak with you," the elf replied just as quickly.

"Why?" she replied in the same fashion. The pattern broke with Legolas; he paused after her question contemplating his answer.

"Because I felt it might be interesting," he replied several moments later. Eowyn was dumbfounded. "Because you thought it would be interesting?" she asked herself incredulously, "why would it be interesting?" She had been thinking as a strategist, as though she and the elf were in a battle. She was constantly trying to figure out his next move and the reasons for those moves. She was trying to understand and anticipate his actions but speaking with her "because it was interesting," was not what she expected.

"Why do you think I'm interesting?" she asked in the same way they had previously been conversing blunt and void of emotion but in her mind she legitimately wondered why someone would find her interesting. She felt as though her internal battle came to a halt; both sides waited anxiously to see what value she might have.

"Because you can see," he replied.

"I can see?" she thought. She almost laughed out loud and she imagined both of the armies inside her head were doing just that. She had foolishly expected something helpful; she had hoped that he could tell her something she had been wanting to be able to honestly tell herself. She had hoped that he would counteract the thought she got when she saw her reflection. The thought Grima had put there. "What a foolish thought." she recalled bitterly, "hoping an strange elf could give me value."She chuckled bitterly to herself out loud and looked up into Legolas's eyes with a clever quip already forming on her tongue

She said...nothing. She thought nothing. Her mouth hung open in preparation to jest him but once their eyes met she had no thought in her mind to voice. She finally formed one thought-valuable. She was shocked but she knew it was real. She looked into his eyes and saw her reflection and the word she described herself with was valuable. She almost broke face. She felt as though the armies and dropped their weapons and sat down for a nice smoke by the campfire together. She looked away from him; completely turning her body away. As soon as she took her eyes off his the thoughts returned, the horrible thoughts, but they seemed muffled now like someone had closed a door on the battlefield.

"I am glad I could entertain you Legolas but I must go prepare for the day now," she said with steel in her voice, hiding her vulnerability in anger. The elf chuckled and turned away towards the opposite end of the hall and began walking. Once at the end he turned and gave one last reply.

"You do see, **Lady **Eowyn," he said cheerfully and turned into the next corridor.

"Yes, yes I do, **Sir Elf**, thank you" she replied softly not knowing that with his keen ears Legolas heard every word.


End file.
